Tag Archives: In The Flesh

Work on the sequel to In The Flesh is moving along. Yes it is slow going. I’m not one of those authors who can just crank out hundreds of pages without a thought. In point of fact I’m realizing that my creative process takes a lot of thought and a lot of processing. I have to think the whole thing though before I can begin to write it. I have ideas and then need to play with them to see how they fit into the narrative. Sometimes they don’t and then I have to, in the words of Stephen King, “kill my darlings.” I also have my bs detector set to 11 apparently, so a lot of things I like don’t fit well into the story line and I have to set them aside. I will share the following teaser of a part of a chapter that I’ve written for War In Flesh for your enjoyment but I make no promises that it will survive the multiple editing passes in this books future.

Nevertheless, please enjoy:

War In Flesh

Copyrighted material, all rights reserved

Thousands of miles north of Antarctica, beyond the shining jewel of Ce Acatl, just inland from the coast of the long narrow island that is all that’s left of what was once the northern continent a battered, almost broken antenna picked up the weak signal. Ancient relays came reluctantly to life and deep below the surface lights began to flicker as emergency batteries sacrificed what little power they had left.

On the surface a mere handful out of dozens of hidden hatches opened through the debris that buried them. Up through the hatches solar collector arrays slowly surfaced. It took days for them to collect enough power to begin the power up sequence in deeply buried scientific research stations.
Subterranean bunkers long buried by the movement of earth and nearly flooded by raising water tables slowly revealed themselves to sporadic lighting. Sump pumps groaned and kicked on draining stagnant water where it stood in deep pools on the floors of the lowest levels. The scent of mold filled the dead air.

Slowly, one by one in the high tech labs computers came online, waking from their sleep state as the power came back up. They had been kept alive in a low power state since the cataclysm so long ago. Fans started to move and with them slow air currents began to swirl through the underground complex of labs and offices. Vats filled with nutrients far past their best by dates began to grow bodies, following centuries old routines.

Some of the cylindrical vats failed to come online. In a sub-basement some of the computers shorted out, falling to a combination of moisture and nibbling rodents that had encroached over the long years. Others powered up and began growing things even before the injectors inserted the organic material intended to be grown in them. Somehow their sterile interiors had been breached by microorganisms during their long dormancy.

The laboratories were climate stable by virtue of being so far beneath the surface. In such a protected place the denizens of caves made their home, just as they would any natural cave system. Bats found their way into the upper level. Mountains of guano became nourishment for cockroaches and other crawling things. Heavy, sealed bulkhead doors kept larger things out of the lower levels but were little barrier to microorganisms.

Weeks passed while the sump pumps and fans worked. Often they had to shut down to conserve what little power the solar collectors could provide. Every system in the buried complex was designed to protect the computers first, even the electrical system. With the emergency batteries dead and not enough power coming from the arrays to recharge them, if that were even still possible, the other systems regularly idled so that what power there was could be diverted to the computers.

Eventually the pumps got the floors dry and the fans refreshed the air, opening vents to the surface when what humidity and moisture sensors that remained permitted.

In the cloning vats things grew.

This is but a snippet, gentle reader, that I hope you enjoy. I have all of the ideas in place now and just need to see how they will hang together. Things always change as I write them and what I envision when I start out is rarely what the final tale is. Characters will do what they will and I am often just telling their story they way they would have me tell it. K.

Day 6 of the Mothra Cosplay construction. The budget is still holding steady at $70.00 for materials. This Cosplay Sunday shows the right wing reaching construction complete and the left wing is nearing construction complete. The only thing left to affix to the left wing is the faux fur material that is being used to simulate fine feathery scales at the inside exe of the wing.

Once the wings are construction complete that will leave painting to be done. Hours and hours of painting. Once the painting is done, which I expect to take several weeks. Then the wings will be ready to be affixed to the vest that is providing the body of the costume. I’m not sure how sewing the wings to the leather will work. I hope it’ll go fairly quickly but I fear it will be a lengthy process.

Leather vest, painted with Mothra pattern, for main body of cosplay.

The wings are not as tall as I am, a feature that will make them easy to maneuver through crowds at a con. They also will function more as sleeves, to be extended as I desire. Fixed wings are just too bulky for me to maneuver in crowds. Not a week has gone by where I haven’t asked if the wings are large enough. I tried the right wing on and I think it will do.

Layout

Next Cosplay Sunday I think I’ll paint the right wing and see how far I get. I’ll have to finish up the construction on the left wing the week after. I enjoy painting and I’m excited to see what a completed wing looks like, so I’ll put off finishing the construction on the left wing for a week.

***** **** ***** **** ***** **** ***** **** ***** **** *****

Now on to news of War In Flesh, the sequel to In The Flesh. I had an idea worthy of a novel but have had a lot of trouble with transitions. After many starts and stops I have had a group of ideas that are worthy of transitions and sub plots. I will have to scrap almost 20,000 words at this time but I think the end result will be worth it. The real struggle with War In Flesh has been that I never intended to write more than one novel in the In The Flesh universe until my beta readers all asked for a sequel. This required that I alter my thought processes about the whole setting after I had finished In The Flesh.

So there have been delays as I try to come up with ideas and an adventure worthy of the first book. Now I’m at the same place I was when I began to write In The Flesh: Hoping I can write well enough to be worthy of my idea. I will keep you updated, gentle reader. K

Check out this review of my novel by Jeremy Webster, who reviews movies for F5 and books for The Geek Girl Project. Here’s an excerpt:

Much the way Stephen King’s The Gunslinger told a dark fantasy tale by dressing it up in spaghetti western characters, costumes, and settings, much of Zolnoski’s science fiction debut comes in a shell of adventure fantasy, particularly in early, action-heavy setpieces involving a long, arduous escape from enemy armies and pursuing predators dense in a seemingly endless forest region, and late in as the novel’s protagonists set to sea in a steampunk-style sailing vessel to contend with sea monsters on their way to their fabled destination.

But to assume the work to rest on something as mundane as rescuing the girl or saving the world from the latest watered down wannabe Sauron or Morgoth is not what Zolnoski had in mind. A reader and fan of classics of the science fiction genre for most of her life, Zolnoski carefully weaves in plot elements involving issues such as sociology, relative ethicality and morality, ecological stewardship, and even innate species memory.

As Zolnoski approaches the novel’s climax and conclusion, the work begins to take on thematic elements of it being merely a tiny, but crucial, moment in many such moments leading to these events throughout history, many of which were either pre-ordained to occur or optimized on a statistical plausibility of occurring. Such is the sort of storytelling arc conceptualization we saw with Asimov’s Seldon crisis concept throughout his Foundation series, and the millennia-long genetic breeding programs eventually resulting in Paul Atriedes in Frank Herbert’s Dune series. Zolnoski works with the conceptual brain food of the classics, while delivering it in a package of epic fantasy adventure.

Zolnoski’s prose is largely fluid and easily accessible and her characters are interesting and relatable. They tend to be somewhat archetypal of their various specialties in interest in skill, but this is hardly a detraction to the proceedings as the novel itself justifies why they function in this way. A strange way to relate this notion, I know, but readers will know exactly what I mean when they experience the novel themselves.

That’s right, gentle reader. Our sister site Random-words has reviewed In The Flesh. Here’s a reposting (with permission) of the review:

Here’s my review of K.L. Zolnoski’s In the Flesh. Yes you might accuse me of being biased but I’ll give you my honest opinions and you can decide on your own. Also, warning, spoilers follow but I won’t give away everything.

The story begins “seven and a half generations” after an apocalypse that killed billions of people. Those who are left banded together in small tribes and cities and largely kept to themselves.

We are quickly introduced to Enyeto Tavrin, a guide and a woodsman who knows the mountainous region well. He also knows how to avoid the strange mutated creatures which now live in the mountains. We learn that he’s been sent by Prince Antal of Tabijara to fetch a healer from the Temple of the Three Waterfalls. These healers are renowned for their mystical skill but Enyeto is not enamored of their “mumbo-jumo.” He just wants to do his job and get on with his life.

Enyeto reaches the temple and the Sybil arranges for her daughter to travel with Enyeto back to the capital of Tabijara, Ce Acatl. Evadne is not thrilled with this idea but obeys her mother.

While this is going on, in Ce Acatl Prince Antal is meeting his advisors to plan an expedition. He wants Christopher and Stephan Persi, two brothers who own a sailing ship and spend much of their time getting into trouble, to lead the expedition but his advisors Urial and Jaehyun don’t like that idea.

Evadne and Enyeto embark on their journey back to Ce Acatl, facing numerous beasties and other dangers as they travel. On the way they find General Baas and his armed patrol. They have a wounded soldier who Evadne tries to heal but he is near death and must be brought back to the temple. The General assigns Lt. Colonel Dayyan Cantu to make sure they get to Ce Acatl.

After leaving camp the group is ambushed by a group of tribesmen and forced to retreat into a huge cave then through a valley where they are attacked by another creature. Dayyan and Evadne are both hurt and things look grim for our adventurers. They find a wounded man, Carlos Martin, who appeals to come with them to avoid getting eaten by the creatures. They reluctantly agree but Dayyan and Enyeto are suspicious.

In the meantime Christopher and Stephen meet Makis, a budding wizard who has a tendency to make things blow up or otherwise go wrong. The three of them sneak around Ce Acatl and try to figure out why the Prince has chosen them to go on this voyage to the legendary Southern Continent. They meet the engineer Lady Ziya and Meshaal who will also accompany them.

Eventually after braving many other dangers, Evadne and her protectors reach Ce Acatl. They learn that the temple has been sacked and Evadne’s mother was killed. The Elder of the city, Chodak, insists on performing the ceremony to escalate Evadne to Cybil. During the ceremony each participant learns the true meaning of the strange marks they’ve borne since birth.

The team eventually boards the ship and makes it to the Southern Continent. There are more twists and surprises but you’ll have to read the book for those. Once on the Southern Continent the team learns the truth behind their history and how the world got to be in the state it is in, and Lady Evadne is left with a choice which can alter the future of the entire world.

There’s a lot going on here but K.L. handles it well and manages tie together all the various characters and plot lines (something I’ve seen much more famous authors struggle to do — witness David Brin’s Earth). The characters are what make the book interesting and the author does a good job of developing and exploring the major characters.

If you like expansive science fiction and fantasy with lots of characters, lots of action and a wide range of interesting settings then I think you’ll enjoy this book.

As you well know, gentle reader, I took a short break from blogging. What happened is that I started a new job and it’s been tough getting used to the new schedule. It takes a surprising amount of time and energy to craft quality blog posts and I’ve been just mentally and physically exhausted for the past 6 weeks. The shorter blog posts you have noticed have been my attempt to post something that might be of interest. I thank you for your patience and I will be blogging once again.

For a brief update on my plans going forward: I intend to keep up with the Golden Age of Science Fiction Authors series as well as reviewing an assortment of movies. When it comes to movies, do keep in mind that I am a fan not a critic. Astronomy is a subject I adore and will be keeping up on.

As for my writing, I’m still working on the sequel to In The Flesh but I’m going to set that aside for a bit. What I want to do is start outlining my NaNoWriMo project for this year and it’s going to be the space opera I promised myself I could write. I’ve got a lot of ideas and I’m trying to narrow them down to the ones I really think will work best.

I have tickets to the Rose City Comic Con and next years Emerald City Comic Con so look for those updates too. It’s going to be a fun and exciting next few months. K.

It’s been three days since my last post and for that I do apologize, gentle reader. Today I will be working on some ideas I’ve had for War In Flesh. I have a lot for Dayyan and Evadne to do and I’m trying to get Prince Antal either into or out of trouble, I cannot decide which. The Persi brothers and Makis are about to go off on their own–for those who have read In The Flesh, just let that percolate through your grey matter for a bit; those three off together, unsupervised.

I’ve completely changed who the main antagonist will be for War In Flesh and I think the story is far stronger for it. I’ve also changed where they will go for the final encounter. I’m looking forward to getting some serious work done on War In Flesh today. K.

Since we’re getting a lot of new traffic and I’d like to keep people updated. I wrote a science fiction novel called In The Flesh. No zombies I’m afraid but I think you’ll find that the title is appropriate nevertheless. It’s available on Amazon, Kobo for the Droid, and Barnes and Noble for the Nook as well as on iTunes (my apologies but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to link the iTunes page to this blog).

Here’s the blurb from the back cover:

Mankind’s ancient curse has ravaged the world and even crept to the very doorstep of The Temple of The Three Waterfalls. Generations-old treaties have spared the temple and those who call it home. Evadne, only daughter of the Holy Sybil, is content to remain hidden away in the remote mountain temple and study her craft.
But things are changing in the outside world. The emissary of a foreign prince has been sent to take Evadne away. Whispers of strange prophecies are heard from behind thick stone walls and the rumor of a powerful oracle to the east has the temple soothsayers involved. Change is on the wind.

Far away from the temple two brothers have discovered a lost continent. The promise of long lost technologies and treasures has the prince racing to stake his claim. They are not unopposed, for there are those who fear this discovery will bring about the end of the world.

Hummingbird in my garden.

On to Gardening! I seem to have a nesting pair of hummingbirds in or very near my garden. How exciting is that? I love watching them dart around and drink from the flowers. I could watch them all day long. They’re so beautiful and tiny.

The weeds are making a strong come-back and I have to get to weeding to keep them from taking over again. If I do that I will have space for a few more plants. I think, what I’d like to do is get a few more hummingbird friendly plants for my little garden. I was watering the flowers the hummingbirds seem to really like, the crocosmia Lucifer and one little humming bird was feeding right next to me and I didn’t even realize it. She was so close to me! Then I turned to water another section, all unaware she was so near, and startled her. I saw two of them hiding in one of the evergreens though so I think they’re a nesting pair. I’ve heard that hummingbirds are pretty territorial and these two weren’t chasing one another or scolding each other, so that is why I think they’re mates.

Finally, as many of you may know, I also write for a wonderful blog called The Geek Girl Project. Well this Saturday they are running a special, and unique, review of Pacific Rim that I submitted to them. It explains how I came to be such a fan of Kaiju and Godzilla in particular and why I’ve been so excited about Pacific Rim as well.

I’m going to try to get an update about Godzilla 2014 together for you later on today or tomorrow. Keep an eye on the Godzilla Encounter site. The SDCC is about to get into full swing and there are supposed to be some exciting reveals there. K.

The sequel to In The Flesh, War In Flesh has been on a bit of a writing hiatus while I try to figure out how things go together. A lot of thought and a little bit of inspiration have gotten two major plot points figured out in a way that I am very very pleased with. I was having some real trouble getting things to work out that didn’t seem contrived or forced but finally I figured it out. Two chapters came to me and they contained answers and also another mystery that isn’t revealing itself to me yet. I’m as anxious to find out what’s going on as you will be. Also In The Flesh is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Kobo.

Also I saw Huey Lewis and The News at the Zoo. They were awesome, the crowd was great. They did their whole Sports album, seeing how it was the 30th anniversary tour of the Sports album. They also performed some new song and a lot of old favorites. The weather was perfect and the sunset was gorgeous.

I’ll be posting an update about my garden soon. Also I already have tickets for Pacific Rim and will be reviewing it here on M31 Publishing and at The Geek Girl Project. I’m so excited about that movie. Everything I’m seeing from advance reviews says it’ll live up to the hype. Also, good news! I scored an advance readers copy of the novelization of Pacific Rim and I will be reviewing that for The Geek Girl Project and M31. K.

As you may have noticed I’m trying to expand M31 Publishing into a real, and interesting, Blog. I love science fiction, comic books, games of all kinds and a lot of things. I already have my tickets for Pacific Rim–the wait is KILLING me! Tomorrow I’m likely to drink some amazing beer and see The Lone Ranger (I know I shouldn’t want to see it but I kind of do). Thanks to my ties to The Geek Girl Project I’ve got an in with Titan Comics and thanks to Bob Eggleton I’ve discovered In Saturn’s Rings which I will keep track of and update you on. So check out www.M31Publishing.com for updates on all of this and War in Flesh as well as Second Chances and other books I’m working on.

What I’m finding is that people love to read about my garden. That works out well for me because I love to write about it.

I’m still publishing movie reviews on The Geek Girl Project. I’m reviewing the old Godzilla movies as well as doing a monthly series of movies called K.’s Guilty Pleasures. For all those old (and new) budget movies or just blockbusters that didn’t bust the block.

War In Flesh is coming along slowly but very well. I feel the stuff I’ve written since I rebooted it is very good. I’m hoping to get some time this weekend to really get some serious work done on it. I’m having more ideas for Second Chances too and I’m torn between working on War In Flesh and Second Chances. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. In The Flesh is available for your kindle on Amazon. K.

Posting a little late today. I have gotten some good work done on War In Flesh. It comes along slowly but I really like the direction it is taking. Exciting things. It is difficult for me to keep the romance at the forefront of my thought process. I think it will be worth it though. I like the adventure and the science fiction a great deal and that distracts me sometimes from the romance.

I’ve hit a point where the narrative line is telling me what to do next and that’s always a good sign. I’ll be working more on it today. I’ll also get some more science fiction articles written up for M31. I hope you’ve been enjoying them.

And for those who are interested In The Flesh is available in print or for the Kindle at Amazon